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There is no question that we need to cut our carbon emissions substantially and quickly in order to prevent our planet from becoming uninhabitable. While the move to electrify transportation is an obvious step toward decarbonization, the fossil fuel industry has other ideas. In particular the promotion of renewable diesel and biofuels. On this episode of Locus Focus talk with
Last spring Zenith Energy, the Houston-based fossil fuel company who has been operating a massive oil-by-rail operation in Portland Harbor, met secretly with staff from city commissioner Dan Ryan's and Carmen Rubio's offices, to hammer out a backroom deal that granted the company a necessary permit to continue its operation. Now the ball is in the court of the Oregon
Before the Hanford Nuclear Reservation was created, since time immemorial this extraordinary bend in the Columbia River was a vital and sacred place to the Confederated Tribes and Bands of Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the Wanapum. During World War II, these lands were snatched from the tribes to produce
For years Portland has been renowned for its vast urban canopy but in recent years that canopy is shrinking. As the climate crisis tightens its noose around our communities, trees are one of the most important allies we have to stave off the worst impacts from a heating planet. On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Micah Meskel, Interim Conservation Director with
In late August 2021, after months of grassroots pressure, Portland City Council rejected Zenith Energy's Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) that was required before the company could get a Clean Air permit from Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Despite Zenith's numerous appeals it looked very likely that its days as an oil-by-rail facility were numbered.